Oxford African American Studies Center (online reference database): An authoritative and comprehensive source on the African American experience and African and Diaspora studies. Includes scholarly articles, biographical and subject entries, primary resources, multimedia, images, maps, charts, timelines, tables, and teaching materials.
Locate Scholarly Journal Articles
When you are looking specifically for scholarly articles, be sure to use a database's limiters to select "academic journal" in the publication type or "scholarly (peer reviewed) journals" as a general limiter. Limiting options will vary from one database to another.
Academic Search Complete: Multi-disciplinary source for scholarly, popular, professional, and news publications. This is a good place to start many searches or to gather material from various disciplines at once.
America: History and Life: Comprehensive resource for articles on the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present.
Electronic Journal Center (EJC): Multi-disciplinary collection of full text academic journals. Select the "Arts & Humanities" category to see the history or humanities categories. Or select the "Social Sciences" category to see the sociology and social studies category.
Humanities Full Text: Provides full-text of the most important scholarly sources in the humanities.
Race Relations Abstracts: Abstracts and references to journal articles regarding race relations, ethnic studies, discrimination, and immigration.
To determine if an item would be considered scholarly, look for the following characteristics:
Length: The article is usually several pages long, and can be more than 20 pages.
Author(s): The article will always list an author or group of authors. Affiliations and credentials are often listed for each.
Audience: The intended audience includes students, researchers, and experts in the field
Refereed: Research is reviewed by peer prior to being accepted for publication
Illustrations: The article may include maps, tables, and graphs the support the text. Colorful photographs are rarely used.
References: The article will always included citations to research discussed throughout the article in the form of footnotes, end notes, and bibliographies.
Language: The article will be written using vocabulary used in the author's field or discipline.
Format: The article will follow a standard format.
UA Libraries Catalog: Search for materials (including print books or e-books) in the University of Akron Libraries: Wayne College Library, Bierce Library, Science Library, Law Library and Archives.
Perform keyword searches using Boolean operators, truncation, or phrase searching:
Plessy AND "separate but equal"
"Civil rights movement" AND origin*
"Harlem Renaissance" AND (writer* or poet*) AND women
OhioLINK Central Catalog: If you don't find what you're looking for, or perhaps need more, expand your search to the larger library OhioLINK catalog which includes 90 college, university, and research libraries across the state of Ohio (including The University of Akron Libraries).
For best results, start your search in the UA Libraries Catalog and then expand your search to OhioLINK if needed.
If you find a book in the OhioLINK Central Catalog that is owned by a UA Library, you will need to request it through the UA Libraries Catalog.
Locate Appropriate Websites
Use your favorite search engine's advanced search interface to limit your results by domain (.edu, .org, .gov, etc.) or where your search terms are to be found (in the web address, in the title of the site, etc.).
Spend some time anticipating which websites might have the information you are looking for and go there first to find it. For example, searching for a national library or museum on your topic might find what you're looking for more quickly than a generic Google search.
Locate Primary Sources
Library of Congress's American Memory: African American History Collections : American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
In Motion: The African American Migration Experience: Presents more than 16,500 pages of texts, 8,300 illustrations, and more than 60 maps. The Web site is organized around thirteen defining migrations that have formed and transformed African America and the nation.
Search-A-Roo: This cross-database resource searches multiple databases all at once and is a great place to start your research. Search the UA Libraries Catalog, OhioLINK Catalog, and many subject-specific databases (but not all databases) all at once, using a familiar interface.
Keep in mind that you will need to use limiters in order to drill-down your results. You will likely retrieve A LOT of results.
Also, not every resource available to you is indexed in the Search-A-Roo search tool.
Pathfinder address: https://waynecollegelibrary.wikispaces.com/The+Black+Experience%2C+1877-1954
Reference Sources:
Locate Scholarly Journal Articles
When you are looking specifically for scholarly articles, be sure to use a database's limiters to select "academic journal" in the publication type or "scholarly (peer reviewed) journals" as a general limiter. Limiting options will vary from one database to another.To determine if an item would be considered scholarly, look for the following characteristics:
- Length: The article is usually several pages long, and can be more than 20 pages.
- Author(s): The article will always list an author or group of authors. Affiliations and credentials are often listed for each.
- Audience: The intended audience includes students, researchers, and experts in the field
- Refereed: Research is reviewed by peer prior to being accepted for publication
- Illustrations: The article may include maps, tables, and graphs the support the text. Colorful photographs are rarely used.
- References: The article will always included citations to research discussed throughout the article in the form of footnotes, end notes, and bibliographies.
- Language: The article will be written using vocabulary used in the author's field or discipline.
- Format: The article will follow a standard format.
Handout: Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly PublicationsLocate Books or e-Books
Locate Appropriate Websites
Locate Primary Sources
- Library of Congress's American Memory: African American History Collections : American Memory provides free and open access through the Internet to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience. It is a digital record of American history and creativity. These materials, from the collections of the Library of Congress and other institutions, chronicle historical events, people, places, and ideas that continue to shape America, serving the public as a resource for education and lifelong learning.
- In Motion: The African American Migration Experience: Presents more than 16,500 pages of texts, 8,300 illustrations, and more than 60 maps. The Web site is organized around thirteen defining migrations that have formed and transformed African America and the nation.
For more information on primary sources, visit the "Locate Primary Sources" pathfinder.I Want it ALL:
Document Your Sources
The Smucker Learning Center's documents and informationStyle Guides in the Library's collection:
Ready Reference LB2369 .G53 2009 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Ready Reference BF76.7 .P83 2010 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
During the library's normal operating hours you can stop by, call, text message, or chat with the library staff live: